Pingree Grove hires interim village administrator

A divided Pingree Grove village board on Monday night hired a part-time village administrator to oversee the town's day-to-day operations.

For the next six months, William P. Barlow III, 53, will direct and coordinate staff, but he does not have the authority to hire or fire them.

Barlow was previously village administrator in Waunakee, Wis., overseeing 210 employees and an annual budget of $16 million.

It was a job he held for nine months in 2009, before he resigned to follow his wife back to Illinois, he said.

She had obtained a post in speech pathology for Community Consolidated School District 15 in Palatine, he said.

Barlow has his own ties to Illinois.

From 2006 through 2009 he was village manager of Winfield. He's also been director of public works in Schaumburg and city manager for Rolling Meadows.

"Congratulations, Mr. Barlow, thank you," Village President Wyman "Clint" Carey said after the board approved the hire by a 4 to 3 vote. "I look forward to working with you."

Barlow will work 25 hours a week at $46 an hour. He will also receive a cellular phone stipend and reimbursement for mileage.

The vote followed a 21-minute closed-door session that had not been on the agenda.

Barlow was hired by a simple majority vote that required four approvals, rather than a supermajority vote that would have needed five yes votes.

Trustees Stephanie Mette, Greg Marston and Steve Wiedmeyer voted against creating the village administrator position and against hiring Barlow.

Marston previously said Pingree Grove was doing just fine without a manager at the helm.

Carey disagreed, saying certain projects were slipping through the cracks without an administrator's oversight. To that end, he recruited village administrator candidates on his own.

Barlow's hire follows the ouster of Scott Hartman, who was fired in May.

Barlow stayed for the entire meeting Monday and saw for himself how divided the board can get on key votes. He said he knows how to get things done under those conditions.

"Certainly, you want to respect everybody's opinion ... and, where you can, continue to help build consensus," he said. "Speak when spoken to. I think they certainly have passionate positions. There's nothing wrong with that."